Introducing... Historical figures in Georgia History ( ) Created by LaTrease Williams December 30, 2014

James Oglethorpe James Oglethorpe was born in England on December 22, He grew up outside London, England. James was appointed by King George II to bring colonists from England to the New World to start the colony of Georgia. Some of the colonist were carpenters, farmers, merchants, bakers, and tailors. They would be some of the first to build a new colony that started in Savannah. James Oglethorpe, founder of Georgia colony. 1 2 Oglethorpe and the colonists arrived in Charles Towne, South Carolina in January of The colonist unloaded in Beufort, SC and waited on Oglethorpe to find a place to settle in Georgia. He and some militia from South Carolina sailed up the Savannah River and landed at Yamacraw Bluff. This was a bluff that dropped 40 feet to the rivers edge. Oglethorpe chose this area because it provided protection for the colony from the water. Yamacraw Bluff was 40 feet above the water’s edge.

3 4 Colonists built a crane to lift heavy supplies from the ships. Settlement of Savannah Yamacraw Bluff Savannah River Think about it… How did this 40 foot bluff help protect the colonist from enemies or an attack from ships sailing the Savannah River? Ships similar to this one were used in the settlement of colonies.

When Oglethorpe arrived at Yamacraw Bluff he met Tomochichi, chief of the Yamacraw Indians. Tomochichi and Oglethorpe became friends. Tomochichi played an important role as an interpreter between the English and the Yamacraw.Tomochichi promised his people that Oglethorpe and the white men would be good to them. Tomochichi Oglethorpe meets Tomochichi 5 6 In return, they agreed to cede their land to Oglethorpe to establish the settlement of Savannah. Think about it…. Why did the Yamacraw and the settlers need to be able to get along with each other? How could being friendly to one another help both sides?

Mary Musgrove Trade was an important business for both the settlers and Indians. Mary Musgrove was a Creek Indian who married John Musgrove, a European. She and her husband owned a trading post on the Savannah River. Her ability to speak Creek and English landed her the job of interpreter for Oglethorpe for 10 years. She played a major role in helping the settlers and Indians learn to trade peacefully with one another. This helped Georgia grow into a successful colony. Some items traded at the post were deer hides, meat, and bread. 7 8 Musgrove Trading Post Think about it… What other goods do you think would have been traded at Musgrove’s trading post? What makes you think this? The Yamacraw and Creek helped protect colonists against attacks from the Spanish because of Mary’s ability to talk between the settlers and the Indians. She helped keep peace between the two. Think about it…. How would having an interpreter make communication easier? Give an example of how an interpreter could help you.

Sequoyah Sequoyah was born in Tuskeegee in His father was a Virginia fur trader and his mother was a Cherokee Indian. He stayed true to his Cherokee heritage and grew up speaking the Cherokee language. Sequoyah 10 In 1812, Sequoyah and other Cherokees enlisted in the military and fought on the United States side. While in the military he noticed the white soldiers were writing letters home and the Cherokee soldiers were unable to do this because they had no written way of communicating. After the war, Sequoyah began working on a series of symbols that represented different sounds of the Cherokee language. His final syllabary had 85 symbols. After completing the syllabary he taught his daughter how to use it and together they taught it to the Cherokee people, making them the first Native American tribe to be able to read and write. In 1825 the first bi-lingual national newspaper was printed by the Cherokee. It was called the Cherokee Phoenix. 9 Think about it… How would being able to read and write change the Cherokee’s lives? List some possible answers.

1112 Sequoyah’s system of writing for the Cherokee is not an actual alphabet. It is a syllabary because the symbols represent sounds not individual letters. A bilingual stop sign in Oklahoma. Can you write your name in Cherokee?

Glossary baker | ˈ bāk ə r| noun a person who makes bread and cakes, esp. commercially (to sell). carpenter | ˈ kärp ə nt ə r| noun a person who makes and repairs wooden objects and structures. cede |sēd| verb [ trans. ] give up (power or territory) : farmer | ˈ färm ə r| noun a person who owns or manages a farm. interpreter |in ˈ t ə rprit ə r| noun a person who interprets, esp. one who translates speech orally. merchant | ˈ m ə r ch ə nt| noun a person or company involved in wholesale trade, esp. one dealing with foreign countries or supplying merchandise to a particular trade militia |m ə ˈ li sh ə | noun a military force that is raised from the civil population to supplement a regular army in an emergency. syllabary | ˈ sil ə ˌ berē| noun ( pl. -baries) a set of written characters representing syllables and (in some languages or stages of writing) serving the purpose of an alphabet. tailor | ˈ tāl ə r| noun a person whose occupation is making fitted clothes such as suits, pants, and jackets to fit individual customers. 1314

Resources ads/gallery/YamacrawBluff.jpg r=drake&book=indians&story=southern georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu yllabary.png 15